He roughly measured the exposed chimney of the command boat and the distance to the gun position, which was only about 40 meters.
In other words, the enemy basically put a gun to his head and shot him.
This location is so well chosen! Mi Longtao had to admire the enemy commander - this was simply not the level that a bandit could achieve! It is even higher than the common level of officers and soldiers.
He took a look at the abandoned cannon. It was not too big in size, and the barrel was very long. Looking carefully, he found that the cannon was actually made of wood - but this was not too rare. It was cheap but had fine and strong wood grains. Cannons made of wood can be found in various places. In the north, elm is mostly used, and in the Guangdong and Guangxi areas, lychee wood, iron wood, etc. are used.
Probably in order for it to withstand enough gunpowder, seven or eight wide iron hoops were placed on the body of the cannon, but even so, cracks still appeared at the tail of this wooden cannon. If he fires another shot, the gunner will definitely be killed. However, there were neither cannonballs nor gunpowder next to the gun emplacement - the bandits probably didn't expect it to fire a second shot.
Six or seven "wooden cannons" of different sizes were also found in the woods. Originally, Mi Longtao was too lazy to collect such trophies that could only be used as firewood, but this time he suffered a serious loss and had to be cautious. He asked people to collect all the firearms abandoned by the bandits and sent them all back to Fengchuan and handed them over to the Intelligence Bureau for screening.
The task of cleaning up the battlefield was the responsibility of the Wuzhou National Army. This work was dirty and tiring, especially collecting the corpses of personnel from both sides. Most of the dead were killed by artillery fire, and many of the bodies were mutilated. Everyone looked disgusted.
"I came out to fight, and when I died, I didn't even have a coffin." Li Pudun helped carry the body, with a look on his face like "the rabbit is dead and the fox is sad."
"It's not bad if there is no dead corpse wilderness." Luo Mao directed the soldiers to dig holes, "Dig deeper! Don't be lazy! The brothers above your heads are watching!"
Li Pudun trembled and murmured: "Squad leader, don't scare people..."
Yang Erdong remained silent and dug a hole. It was a rectangular tomb. He chose it in a relatively high place on the hillside to prevent it from being washed away by floods during the wet season. Seeing the sergeant measuring the depth of the grave with a ruler, Yang Erdong thought to himself that the Australians really had rules when it came to farting. He has been in the army for many years and has seen many bloody scenes. It is common for several people to die in a battle. It is considered a good deed to dig a hole and bury them shallowly.
The dead of the Fubo Army and the National Army were all wrapped in gray military blankets, and they were lined up at the bottom of the pit one by one. At first glance, there were already six people lined up.
"Lieutenant, this is the seventh one, that's all." Li Pudun helped carry the body to the edge of the pit, panting from exhaustion.
Li Dong looked at the corpse in the soaked military blanket: a middle-aged man with dark complexion and unshaven beard. The corpse was more complete than the previous ones that had been swept by the shells, but the chest was frighteningly dented. There was no blood on the body. There were large blood stains on the corners of the mouth and nostrils. It was probably hit by something and suffered internal injuries.
There was no shortage of items on the corpses. Although it was normal for equipment and weapons to be lost in battle, especially for soldiers who died in battle, things like making money from the dead also happened from time to time. This is something that the officers responsible for the aftermath should focus on guarding against.
Li Dong grabbed a small piece of bamboo from the string around the body's neck and took off the armed belt. According to regulations, weapons and equipment must be recycled. Ammunition boxes, bayonets, water bottles... were removed one by one, and in the end only a bag containing personal items remained. The utility bag has been around for a long time and has been patched. It has probably traveled to many places with its owner. He didn't open it to take a look - firstly, there might be some belongings such as a wallet inside, and he wanted to avoid the suspicion of others, and secondly, he was afraid that he would see any personal belongings of the deceased that would offend the situation.
He tied his ID tag to his bag and threw it into a large pocket.
"Wrap it up and bury it." Li Dong said, and the two soldiers quickly wrapped the body in a blanket, tied it with string, and carried it to the pit.
The soil was filled into the tomb, and after a while, a rectangular tomb was raised on the ground. Naturally, there was no stone tablet in the hurry, so he cut down the wood to mark it, and wrote the year, month, day and unit number with ink.
After the monument was erected, the bugler blew the "Lights Out" trumpet, and the rifleman fired a volley into the air.
"Form the team! Get ready to go." Zhu Siyuan was impatient with waiting, and was about to gather and set off when he suddenly saw Li Pudun running out of the queue. He had been crying, but now his face looked better. He didn't care about anyone else, rushed to the grave, gathered some soil to make incense, knelt down, recited a few verses of scripture, and kowtowed several times.
When he did this, some of the National Army soldiers kowtowed and prayed in twos and threes. The commotion made Li Dong dumbfounded, and then he thought about it: things are different from others: today he kowtows to others, but he may not know who will kowtow to him in the future. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little sad, and immediately urged the soldiers to march towards Xu Gang.
On Xu Gang's side, as soon as Mi Longtao's reinforcements appeared, the Xu family was filled with joy. Xu Weicheng, the head of the Xu family, personally went to the intersection to greet him. Several elderly members of the clan who had been "recuperating" at home came to greet him from a distance, half-supported and half-carried by servants and maids, regardless of the objections of their family members.
Xu Weicheng's face was now clear of the fear and anxiety, and his smile was particularly bright - he had prided himself on being "inexpressible" since he was young, whether he was dealing with unruly tenant slaves or being brought to him by a nanny. The eldest grandson all has the same face. Only today, I can't help but feel joyful. Xu Gang's disaster was finally avoided by him!
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a "catastrophe". Since the news of the Yao people's rebellion came, bandits on both sides of the Xijiang River have become extremely rampant. The rioting Yao people coming from the mountains are mixed with the defeated officers and soldiers and "bad guys" from all along the river. , mixed into various gangs. Killings and looting were everywhere, and many small villages lacked defense or were weak and were attacked by bandits. Horrible legends of various murders and robberies continued to spread to Xu Gang - they even saw living examples: just a few days ago , a group of bandits attacked a small village less than five miles away, killed and robbed dozens of villagers, and burned the entire village. After this incident, people from many nearby small villages flocked to Xugang for refuge. From their mouths, the villagers in Xugang heard countless true or false stories of bandit atrocities. The entire village was in panic, with three surprises a day.
This time, the Fubo Army arrived in time and drove away the bandits, which made Mr. Xu feel reassured - not only because Xu Gang was saved, but also because the "director" of the county said that "whenever there is a difficulty, he must be rescued." The promise was fully fulfilled. It’s true that Australians keep their word and keep their word!
This gratitude also turned into a feast for the entire village of Xugang. The troops commanded by Mi Longtao received a warm welcome when they entered Xugang. Mi Longtao was also welcomed into the ancestral hall surrounded by Mr. Xu and others. After a few polite words, Xu Weicheng immediately asked someone to bring a plate full of silver ingots. There are as many as two hundred taels.
"This is a little bit of the kindness of our village, for the general's reward..."
"Take back the money." Mi Longtao waved his hand and said, "It is our duty to maintain local security - you have also paid a reasonable burden. There is no reason to pay twice for the same thing."
These words were not too unusual for Mr. Xu, who had gone to see the "director", but it was a bit shocking to others. Since ancient times, when soldiers cross the border, it is a sign of strict discipline not to burn or loot. If they came to suppress bandits and won a battle, it would be normal for the local government to reward them with some money and food. When Emperor Wanli was on the throne, he went to help North Korea, and the officers and soldiers recovered the capital. The North Korean monarchs and ministers also wanted to reward the officers and soldiers. This General Mi was good, and he opened his mouth just like "his duty" - everyone looked at each other, a little confused about what he meant. .
Mr. Xu had dealt with the Australians and knew something about them. Although he was a little surprised that a warrior could calmly refuse the money, he still asked the servant to take the money back.
"...Since the general refuses to accept it, let our village reward the general's subordinates with wine and meat."
"Thank you, Mr. Xu, but there is no need to drink. Drinking is not allowed during military operations." Mi Longtao said politely, "Besides, I am not a general. Everyone just calls me 'lieutenant'."
No one knew what kind of official this "lieutenant" was. Those who have read history books know that during the Han and Tang Dynasties, the official position of "lieutenant" was among the guards - but these were high-ranking officials showing their nobility, which was obviously inconsistent with the status of Mi Longtao, who commanded hundreds of soldiers. Besides, Australia The self-proclaimed Song Dynasty also has no such title.
While he was suspicious, he heard Mi Longtao say that he was "Captain of the Fengchuan County Guards." Regardless of what a guard captain is, the words "Fengchuan County" are clear. Mr. Xu was also stunned and asked, "So Lieutenant Mi is from Fengchuan County?"
"Exactly."
"But...but..." Mr. Xu became more and more surprised and couldn't help but say what was on his mind, "This is the jurisdiction of Yunan County."
Since ancient times, local officials have given their top priority to "protecting the environment and the people". However, in turn, they are "not responsible" for things in other places - if someone dies on the county boundary, and the county official does not want to bother, there will be Ask Li Jia to quietly dump the body into the neighboring county. Things like suppressing bandits are even more local problems. It would be good if the county is willing to send troops to rescue the bandits in this county, let alone the neighboring county!
"Do we still need each other? Once you have surrendered to the Senate, you are the subjects of the Senate. No matter where you are, no matter whether you are a commoner or a commoner, if there is danger, our Fubo Army will rescue you. What's more, your place is far away from Fengchuan County. Yunan County is much closer, and it's easy for me to set off from there - if we really wait for the Yunan County Guards to come over, you Xu Gang might not be able to save it."
"Yes, yes, Lieutenant Mi, you are right!" Xu Weicheng raised his thumb secretly, the Australians really deserved their reputation! He was originally worried about the Australian rule in Guangdong, fearing that they would not be able to maintain order in Guangdong and fall into chaos, but at this moment, he was relieved - no matter how powerful the rebels and bandits were at the moment, the final winner would be It must be the Senate!
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 363
